Sense and nonsense of fender tags

[PeugFra]

Do you have a Broadcast Sheet for any of the cars you are referring to?

No, not for C-bodies.

One readable 1977 broadcast sheet I know of was published by moparnutcase for a Cordoba. He also published the back side with the sales code meanings, but that pic is too small to decipher, so please, moparnutcase, could you do that again?

His Cordoba has a 400-4 engine with the N94 Federal emissions package, so would this car have been built at Belvidere, the fender tag would have read "100". But I fail to find a "100" sequence on the sheet.

Another readable 1977 broadcast sheet is for a B-body Fury with the 360-4 engine and the N95 California emissions package. At Belvidere, that would have warranted "111" on the fender tag, but there's nothing similar on the sheet.

Emissions devices are there, although I wouldn't know how to spot the mini-converter on a broadcast sheet: N37 Catalytic Exhaust System for both, to which the California car adds N21 Air Pump and N55 Catalytic Lower Heatshield. For the 49-States car the part numbers for the air pump and the catalytic heat shield are zeroed out.

Both have N97, a code for which I don't know the 1977 meaning. Used to be "Noise Reduction Package" in the early 70s. moparnutcase could help with his back side.

 

[1978 NYB]

No, not for C-bodies.

One readable 1977 broadcast sheet I know of was published by moparnutcase for a Cordoba. He also published the back side with the sales code meanings, but that pic is too small to decipher, so please, moparnutcase, could you do that again?

View attachment 280487
His Cordoba has a 400-4 engine with the N94 Federal emissions package, so would this car have been built at Belvidere, the fender tag would have read "100". But I fail to find a "100" sequence on the sheet.

Another readable 1977 broadcast sheet is for a B-body Fury with the 360-4 engine and the N95 California emissions package. At Belvidere, that would have warranted "111" on the fender tag, but there's nothing similar on the sheet.

View attachment 280488

Emissions devices are there, although I wouldn't know how to spot the mini-converter on a broadcast sheet: N37 Catalytic Exhaust System for both, to which the California car adds N21 Air Pump and N55 Catalytic Lower Heatshield. For the 49-States car the part numbers for the air pump and the catalytic heat shield are zeroed out.

Both have N97, a code for which I don't know the 1977 meaning. Used to be "Noise Reduction Package" in the early 70s. moparnutcase could help with his back side.

I'm sure you already know that no 400 engine ever had an air pump. IIRC, 400's were not available in Cslifornia and I think not available in high altitude areas.

 

[PeugFra]

The broadcast sheet comparison above showed that the presence of a catalyst does not automatically entail the presence of a catalytic lower heat shield aka grass shield. So the heat shield needs to be included in the list of emissions-relevant equipment for every single engine + emissions package combination.

As the heat shield is generally not mentioned on the fender tag, and in the absence of general information on the installation of heat shields, the task of deciphering the meaning of the 3-digit code has just become a tiny bit more complicated.

But hey, unlike the mini-converter at least the heat shield info can be read off the broadcast sheet.

 

[PeugFra]

I hear you all shouting: "The NOx control devices! You dumbo!" Yes, I forgot about EGR/OSAC.

In fact, it is a pleasure to see how those fields are all zeroed out in the 49-States Cordoba broadcast sheet (line 4).

 

[PeugFra]

The more I look at broadcast sheets, the more I like the idea of checking them for the 3-digit code! Only you have to break this code up in three separate code points to make it work.

Although I don't have broadcast sheets for 1977 Belvidere-built C-bodies, I do have sheets that would correspond to the three 3-digit 1977 Belvidere codes discussed so far.

- "000" -

400-4 (N) with probably Canadian emissions. The catalyst field is in line 5 and the other emissions devices are in line 7. Everything is zeroed out, so lots of 0s to choose from.


- "100" -

400-4 (N), N94 Federal emissions. In the 1977 sheet format the air pump is in line 5 and the other emissions devices are in line 4. The catalyst is the only emissions device that is not zeroed out, and in the 3-digit code the first position flips from "0" to "1".

This could well be shorthand for "w/ catalyst"", with the first code point specifically referring to the presence or absence of a catalyst. The second and third code point would then each refer to another emissions-related device. (Remember, ELB is no part of this 3-digit code.)


- "111" -

360-4 J-code, N95 California emissions. No emissions device is zeroed out, and the second and third positions in the 3-digit code flip from "0" to "1".

I know the proof is circumstantial (one sheet is even from 1976), but everything seems to work out fine.

 

[PeugFra]

With the high-output engines, things do not fall into place that neatly.

Another 3-digit code that can occur with N94 Federal Emissions is "222", only found on police cars with the 440-4 U-code engine. All seven examples also have N41 Dual Exhaust, and therefore dual catalysts, which could correspond to the 2 in the first code point. What the other 2s mean, I have no idea!

Then you have a single case of "101", on a police car with the 400-4 P-code engine. This should also come with a dual exhaust, however, there is no N41 on the fender tag in this case. On the face of it, 1 in the first code point would be correct (single exhaust with single catalyst), but it runs counter to common knowledge to assume a single exhaust behind a high-output engine. And as things stand, there is no way of knowing what the 1 in the third code point refers to.

 

[69CoronetRT]

Good work. Keep it up.
Always remember the phrase “research continues “. The more data you collect, the better the proof.

 

[PeugFra]

I stand corrected: the 1977 Plymouth Police Cars brochure clearly states that only the 440-4 E86 engine comes with dual exhaust and dual catalytic converters, whereas the 400-4 E68 engine has a single-exhaust system:

So now I have one example each for these two single-exhaust systems:

400-4 (N): N94 emissions, code "100"
400-4 (P): N94 emissions, code "101"

Both have a single catalyst, probably expressed by the first 1, but what does the last 1 mean with the P-code engine? Which emissions control device does it have that the N-code engine is lacking?

 

[PeugFra]

Among the three emissions categories, California, High Altitude and Federal, only the first two are directly represented by a sales code. Here's the 1977 situation, penned down from the back of a broadcast sheet (the alternative descriptions for N95 and N96 are from the 1977 Dealership Data Book):

N37 Catalytic Exh/System
N92 ESA w/o Catalyst
N93 Emissions Export Pkg
N94 ESA w/Catalyst
N95 Emiss/Test and Label aka California
N96 Hi Alt Emiss Cont Pkg aka High Altitude

Federal emissions ("49 State" on window stickers) is actually covered by three codes, N37, N92 and N94. In the broadcast sheet N37 is used for all catalyst-equipped cars, including those without ELB (360-2 and 360-4). It never appears on the fender tag, however. By some administrative quirk, neither N95/N96 is stamped on tags of California/High Altitude 360-4 engined cars.

This confusing situation could well be the reason why the Belvidere-only 3-digit code contains information on the presence or absence of a catalyst.

 

[PeugFra]

In support of the importance Belvidere assembly supposedly attached to informing the work floor about catalysts, here are two fender tags from late 1976:

They both contain code N38 "Non/Catalytic Exh/Sys". In 1977 then, the 3-digit code is introduced to tell about catalysts, with a zero in the first code point assuming the function of code N38.

 

[PeugFra]

Catalytic comberters? We don’t need no steenking catalytic comberters...

For all horse-power lovers, here's your 1977 Table of Horrors: the emissions control devices, spelt out by EPA engine family:

It is a March 1976 projection of what Chrysler intended to do for the 1977 model year, but it comes pretty close to what was actually fielded. The only differences are:

- FD-225-2-A got its catalyst bumped to 90 cid and became the FD-225-2-C family
- the FA-400-4-NE and CD-440-4ST-GEP families are missing

I am showing it here not to torture you folks, but to take a look at possible correlations between emissions control devices and the 3-digit code. A reminder:

100:
FD-360-2-C
FB-400-4-CE
FB-440-4ST-CE
(C = 90 cid overall catalyst volume; E = ELB)

101:
FA-400-4-NE (not in the list)
(N = ???; E = ELB)

111:
CD-360-4-GP
CD-440-4ST-GEP (not in the list)
(G = 174 cid overall catalyst volume; E = ELB; P = AIR)

222:
FB-440-4HP-DE
(D = 180 cid overall catalyst volume; E = ELB)

Now, if someone says: "I don't see any further correlation apart from the number of catalysts", neither do I!

It is time to abandon the hypothesis that the 3-digit code reflects the presence or absence of certain emissions control devices and start looking for an alternative explanation.

 

[PeugFra]

Sorry I kept beating the wrong track for so long and wasted your time. But hey, problem solving can often succeed by going through cycles of trial and error!

Here's my next attempt then:

Any alternative explanation should start with the exhaust, because that correlation is rather straightforward. But instead of checking catalysts and other emissions control devices, let's stick to parts related to the exhaust pipe(s): a dual exhaust makes all digits show up as "2". In the mean time I got hold of three 1977 C-body broadcast sheets, making it easier to check for such parts. Alas, for the first two I don't have the corresponding fender tags.

Note line 12, "Floor Heat Shields" in this broadcast sheet for a 440-4 New Yorker Brougham:

Floor heat shield locations are divided in eight sections, four left and four right. For this Canadian car, presumably coded "000" on the fender tag, all boxes are filled with "00": no floor heat shields present.

Then you have this snippet for a 360-2 Royal Monaco:

Only the box labeled "2/RT" has a part number. A single-exhaust car has its exhaust pipe on the passenger side, so this part is related to the exhaust set-up, probably the placement of the catalyst. The fender tag code would read "100".

My last and rather unreadable example is for a 440-4 HP Gran Fury ("true dual exhaust"):

As far as I can see all boxes, except for the first two, have part numbers written in. The floor is shielded against both exhaust pipes over a substantial length of the car. The fender tag code is known in this case and says "222".

So the new explanation goes:

"The 3-digit code indicates the presence of floor heat shields in locations 2/LT-RT, 3/LT-RT and 4/LT-RT, where 0 = no heat shield, 1 = heat shield right, 2 = heat shield left & right." But it takes some more broadcast sheets and corresponding fender tags to confirm this.

(Yes, this is my dirty little trick to make you all hand over your 1977 sheets!)

 

[69CoronetRT]

Don’t apologize. Your research is necessary and valuable. I’ve never seen anyone attempt to do what you are. You are starting at the beginning. You will explore dead ends and have to start over.

Please continue.

 

[HWYCRZR]

I don't have a dog in this fight as I am stuck in the late '60's, but I also like what you are doing. This kind of information is very interesting to me.

 

[PeugFra]

Thank you all for your encouraging words!

As I don't have any more broadcast sheets lying around I must leave this explanation for what it is: an attractive hypothesis. Proving it depends completely on comparing the fender tag code with the sheet. I checked the 1977 Plymouth Police Cars brochure and found no reference to floor shields, only to grass shields.

By the way, if we accept floor heat shields as the explanation, that would fit the original purpose of fender tags very well: lots of attachment points to the floor pan to take care of!

 

[PeugFra]

This comment is somewhat misplaced in the Mopar-Related Images thread, so I repeat it here:

F15 is an alternator, but what output? In 1974 it always appears when H51 Air Conditioning - Manual Controls is ordered on police cars.

The problem is that sources contain conflicting information in this case:

F15
= Alternator 65-amp [Scott Ross: "1970 Plymouth Road Runner", Forest Lake, MN: Cartech, 2018, p. 90]
= 75 Amp Alt [Paul A. Herd: "Charger, Road Runner and Super Bee Restoration Guide", St.Paul, MN: Motorbooks International, 1994, p. 316]

The 1974 Plymouth Taxi brochure mentions standard 65 amp (Chrysler) and optionally 85 amp (Leece-Neville).

A decision between the alternatives depends on the alternator that is recommended for the Air Conditioning option, as described in the 1974 Plymouth Police Car brochure.

 

[69CoronetRT]

This comment is somewhat misplaced in the Mopar-Related Images thread, so I repeat it here:

F15 is an alternator, but what output? In 1974 it always appears when H51 Air Conditioning - Manual Controls is ordered on police cars.

The problem is that sources contain conflicting information in this case:

F15
= Alternator 65-amp [Scott Ross: "1970 Plymouth Road Runner", Forest Lake, MN: Cartech, 2018, p. 90]
= 75 Amp Alt [Paul A. Herd: "Charger, Road Runner and Super Bee Restoration Guide", St.Paul, MN: Motorbooks International, 1994, p. 316]

The 1974 Plymouth Taxi brochure mentions standard 65 amp (Chrysler) and optionally 85 amp (Leece-Neville).

A decision between the alternatives depends on the alternator that is recommended for the Air Conditioning option, as described in the 1974 Plymouth Police Car brochure.

I can’t help with the detail but sometimes the sales code only tells you the “what” (e.g. high output alternator) not the “which” (specific part number). You may need to cross reference broadcast sheets to get the actual application PN.

(Another reason why BS, WS and fender tags should be salvaged, saved, recorded and shared)

 

[PeugFra]

Copied from the 1974 Gran Fury Brougham 4 door hardtop thread:

This fender tag is remarkable for two codes referring to standard Fury equipment that so far have never been seen on 1974 Fury (or other Formal) fender tags:

B41 = Power Brakes - Front Disc, Rear Drum
J52 = Hood Release, Inside

These same features were optional with A-bodies, to which Newark switched in January, 1974. Looks like the fender tag stamping machine was already set for A-bodies as the last C-bodies were still being built.

 

[PeugFra]

OK, the weather is hot and far from ideal for theoretical ruminations. But... this 26k-Mile 1977 Royal Monaco Brougham has the 400-4 engine and was shipped to a dealer in Delaware, Ohio, so as a federal emissions car should have "100" on the fender tag. The page provides pictures of the underside in what I assume to be close-to-original condition. I selected the ones that I think correspond to locations 2/LT-RT, 3/LT-RT and 4/LT-RT on the broadcast sheet (see post #92):

2/LT-RT:

3/LT-RT:

4/LT-RT:

I can make out only one floor heat shield, right above the catalytic converter. That's position "2/RT".

 

[PeugFra]

... this 26k-Mile 1977 Royal Monaco Brougham ... as a federal emissions car should have "100" on the fender tag.

Yup, N94 and 100, with only one floor heat shield: QED!